


Astronomical Anxieties

by fandomfrolics



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Superfamily, Superhusbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-14
Updated: 2012-11-14
Packaged: 2017-11-18 15:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/562639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomfrolics/pseuds/fandomfrolics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve discovers that Pluto isn’t a planet anymore and takes it a little too personally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Astronomical Anxieties

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Астрономический переполох](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9453752) by [IryStorm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IryStorm/pseuds/IryStorm), [WTF_Avengers_2017](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WTF_Avengers_2017/pseuds/WTF_Avengers_2017)



“Hey Petey, whatcha up to?” Steve asked as he entered the kitchen where Peter and Tony were seated, hunched low over the table.

“Look pops! I’m paper mashing!” Peter exclaimed from the stool he was kneeling on.

“That’s papier-machê, kiddo,” Tony corrected gently.

“That’s what I said! Paper mashing!”

Steve fought down a laugh as he approached the mess. The large oak table was buried under layers of newspaper, glue and wire mesh. “And what exactly are you paper mashing?”

“I’m making the ENTIRE solar system!” Peter spread out his hands to convey exactly how large the task he had undertaken was. “First we’re gonna make the sun, and then allllllll the planets. Pops, did you know I can name all the planets?! You wanna hear?!” Peter was bouncing up and down exuberantly, nearly toppling off his perch and saved only by Tony’s large hand propping him back up.

“Sure buddy, but why don’t you sit with your bum instead of your knees? Save an old man some worry.” Steve ignored Tony’s eye-roll and smiled encouragingly at the small boy.

Peter swiftly swung his legs out from under him and took a deep breath “Ok ready? It goes mercuryvenusearthmarsjupitersaturnuranusneptune!” Peter leaned back, breathless, into the hand that was still supporting him and beamed up at Steve, awaiting his father’s praise.

“That was great! But aren’t you missing one?”

Peter’s face crumpled into a frown, his tongue sticking out slightly in concentration as he tried to figure out his mistake.

“Uh, actually Steve...” Tony began quietly.

“No, it goes mercuryvenusearthmarsjupitersaturnuranusneptune! That’s what the lady said!” Peter interjected.

“The lady?” Steve shot Tony a confused look.

“He learnt it from a kids’ audio program I downloaded. Steve, listen...” Tony tried again.

“Yeah the lady said mercuryvenusearthmarsjupitersaturnuranusneptune, just like that! That’s it right daddy? I said it right?” Peter peered up beseechingly at his dark-haired father.

“You said it perfectly, Peter. Now you just have to practice saying it as eight words instead of one,” Tony replied, standing and dropping a kiss on the boy’s messy hair. “Now why don’t you start working on the sun?” He handed Peter a ball of mesh before coming around the table to join Steve.

“Hold on. Eight? Now I’m no super genius billionaire inventor but I did pretty okay in school and the last time I checked there were nine planets,” Steve arched an eyebrow at his husband.

“Well that’s the problem. The last time you checked was...well probably decades ago. And as of 2006, Pluto is no longer a planet. It is still the name of Mickey’s dog though. At least, I’m pretty sure. Is that right kiddo?”

Peter looked up from where he was happily dunking large wads of newspaper repeatedly into glue. “Huh?”

“Never mind,” Tony chuckled. He turned back to Steve, who was now frowning at the ground, scuffing his toe on the floor and looking for all the world like a lost little boy. “Anyway, yes, Pluto doesn’t count, hence eight.” Tony furrowed his brows at his husband’s bent stance. “Hey, you alright?”

“Hm?” Steve’s head came up. “Yeah I, I just...I dunno...Pluto is, was, my favorite planet.”

“You know, I’ve always preferred Uranus myself,” Tony said, tapping one finger against his lips. “I think it’s absolutely gorgeous.”

Steve glanced quickly at Peter’s hunched form and shot Tony a warning glare, who just responded with a smirk. “So what happened to it? Was it the Skrulls? Or did it get, I dunno, sucked into a black hole or something?” Steve asked, squeezing the back of his neck.

“Nah, nothing that extreme. It still exists out there, it just got it’s title revoked. The people in charge decided it wasn’t good enough to be a real planet and classified it a dwarf planet,” Tony emphasized the last two words with air quotes. “It’s all kinda stupid if you ask me. Imagine how much money they had to spend rewriting textbooks! And I can’t imagine the trouble for all the fancy little solar system models people own. Or hang above their child’s crib.”

“Wait, so they, what, just decided it was too small?? After seventy years of being a planet, it got thrown out because of it’s size? That’s ridiculous! I mean, size isn’t everything!”

“Says the person here with the biggest...”

“Tony!”

“Muscles! I was gonna say muscles!” Tony held his hands up defensively. “What’s the big deal anyway? In fact, kids probably like having one less name to learn. Peter probably would have passed out from a lack of oxygen if he had to add in Pluto,” Tony joked.

“Mercuryvenusearthmarsjupitersaturnuranusneptune!” Peter shouted, drawing his parents’ attention.

“Uh oh. Uh Peter, I think you’re going a bit overboard with the sticky stuff there.” Tony circled around to Peter’s side after spotting the glue tangled thoroughly in his hair. He glanced back at Steve, who looked like he was currently realigning his entire world perspective. Which, knowing him, he probably was. “Steve?”

“I...I’ll see you guys later,” Steve said abruptly before sweeping out of the room.

“That was weird,” Tony muttered. He turned his attention back to his son, who was now sticking together several strands of glue.

“Look dad, I made a spiderweb!”

\---

Tony was seated up in bed, concentrating on his tablet when he heard the doorknob turn. He looked up, silently observing as Steve entered their bedroom and gently closed the door behind him. Steve turned and, seeing his husband watching him, sighed and walked over to the bed, plopping himself down on the end.

“Everything okay?” Tony asked, one eyebrow raised at his partner’s back.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Sorry I sort of ran out on you earlier,” Steve mumbled, pulling off his shoes one at a time and letting them thud to the floor. Tony’s eyebrow crept even higher. Steve was usually neat as a pin. Tony was the one who left his boxers hanging off lampshades and his ties wrapped around bedposts. Well, the tie thing was more of a collective effort. And what an effort it was...

“Actually no,” Steve twisted around, startling Tony out of his fond recollections. “It’s just...I...” Steve trailed off. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“I highly doubt it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something stupid in your life. Unlike me, who manages to do it every other minute,” Tony grinned. “Why don’t you try me?”

“Well, it’s just...I know what it’s like. I know what it’s like to have somebody say, ’No, you can’t be in this group, you’re too small. No, you can’t play with us, you little freak. No, you can’t join the army, you tiny, useless, creature.’” Steve’s face was scrunched up in pain as he recalled the past and Tony’s heart broke for him. He wished he could have been there, armed with his suit. He would have blasted the shit out of anyone and anything that had caused this grief and uncertainty in his husband, his Steve.

The soldier picked miserably at the threads on his khaki pants. “I guess I just feel kind of...I don’t know...bad for Pluto. Which is ridiculous. You can’t feel bad for a planet! Or a baby planet, or whatever it’s been branded now.” He heaved another sigh. “It was just a harsh reminder of what the world is like. Nobody ever looks past appearances, nobody bothers to think there might be more to something, someone than what meets the eye.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh really? You’ve seen my file right? You’ve seen the pictures of me from before? Before the serum?” Tony nodded. “Are you telling me you would have fallen in love with me if I still looked like that?”

“Yes,” Tony replied without hesitation. Steve looked at him skeptically.

“Yes, I would have still fallen in love with you.” Tony moved across the bed, kneeling before his husband and looking intently into his deep blue eyes. “Because you’d still be you. The serum didn’t change who you are. Sure, it made you healthier, helped you grow a bit. And I’m not going to lie, it does make you more fun to look at.” Steve’s eyebrows rose, as if wondering how exactly this wasn’t proving his point. “But that’s not why I love you.” Tony placed one hand on Steve’s cheek, thumb gently brushing back and forth against his husband’s skin. “You, Steve Rogers, have a big heart. You’re kind and you’re loyal and you’re not afraid to keep fighting. Even when the odds are overwhelming and everyone and everything is against you, you fight what for what you believe in. You always try to see the best in everyone. You’re unfailingly polite and always give people a second chance, even when they don’t deserve it. And I’m speaking from experience here. “ Steve started to protest but Tony just moved his hand to cover his mouth. “I’m not done. You’re refreshingly free of cynicism and wonderfully innocent. On a related note, you blush the most adorable shade of red. Aaand there it is now!” Tony felt Steve smile against his hand and his heart grew lighter. “And if you really want to focus on appearances, keep in mind that not everything about you changed with the serum. You still have the same nose...” Tony emphasized his point with a kiss there as Steve let his eyes flutter close, “...the same bewitching blue eyes...” he pressed a kiss on each eyelid, “and...” Tony gently lowered his hand, “the same, most amazingly luscious mouth,” he murmured, his words brushing lightly over Steve’s lips. Tony leant forward, finishing his speech with a tender, lingering, kiss.

Steve slowly opened his moist eyes and rested his forehead against Tony’s. He swallowed, his heart brimming over with love and lust and want and need. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Tony pulled back, throwing his hands in the air. “You see, unfailingly polite!”

Steve rolled his eyes, and with a hand to his chest, shoved Tony onto his back. Steve straddled his lover’s hips and bent forward so they were face-to-face. “Fine, I’m polite. But I think you’re going to have to rethink that innocent part.”

Tony grinned.


End file.
